Documented Sasanian transmission combined with epigraphic monetary obligations.
Hunnic and regional stages remain compressed; no direct transfer from Qom is claimed.
Accounts, not just copied coins
The expanded Attic profile includes a 310 BCE marriage contract and later Seleucid contractual evidence. Egypt has a 259 BCE tax-law witness. The eastern profile now includes qualified Sasanian assessments and early Islamic stipend reckoning, while preserving its firm local Qom documents. Siyadoni provides medieval investments and recurring obligations in drammas.
Existing identities were broadened where the evidence supports inherited accounting. Alexander, individual Seleucid kings, and successive Iranian dynasties do not receive separate nodes merely because they issued different coins. Earlier names and citations remain searchable.
Does any branch reach today?
No complete drachm-to-modern path is verified in the current graph. This is a statement about the evidence assembled here, not a finding that all descendants died out.
Potential route
What is established
What is missing
Iranian rial
The later Persian account profile now has a qualified1296 witness; its onward rial connection is retained.
The early eastern dirham’s inheritance into the intervening medieval regional systems and Ilkhanid account.
Indian rupee and descendants
Medieval dramma obligations; separately, the established Mughal-to-Bengal rupee branch.
The account transitions between those branches, including Delhi and Suri reckoning.
Roman and western branches
The retained local Egyptian integration into Roman denarius accounts.
The later denarius-to-solidus transition needed to continue toward the connected western branches.
The1296 definition improves one modern endpoint’s earlier witness independently. It does not close the ancient drachm gap. Dirham prices reported in 1052 also caution against treating the disappearance of newly minted silver coins as the extinction of accounting.
De Romanis finds that Indian drachm coins could replace earlier coins while local accounts still used karsapana. The modern Greek drachma deliberately revived an ancient name after replacing the phoenix. Likewise, a modern dirham or dram name alone supplies no ancestry link; their documented immediate predecessors remain unchanged.
Egyptian silver accounting inherited the Attic drachma structure and developed a separate regional system with distinct internal and external valuations. Admit qualified ancestry, not a branch created solely by Ptolemaic rulers or reduced coin weights.
The Egyptian copper-drachma account developed from silver reckoning, initially at a reported1:60 relation, while the silver account persisted. Its independent valuation supports a parallel child account. Late-third/early-second-century chronology is a research envelope.
Morony explicitly derives the Sasanian fiscal drahm from the Attic drachma spread east by Alexander and transmitted through Seleucids and Parthians. Admit compressed, qualified ancestry; intermediate identity boundaries and dates remain unresolved.
Cribb traces medieval Indian dramma denominations through Sasanian imports; Deyell connects that branch to named Pratihara epigraphic forms. Combined with Siyadoni obligations, this supports qualified compressed ancestry through Hunnic and regional stages, not a direct Qom-to-India transfer.
R-V36-004 · Qualified ancestry. Research envelope excluded from observations; immediate siblinghood not inferred.
Claims and source inspection
C2018 · qualified
Extend the Athenian profile to the Attic accounting standard adopted and spread by Alexander. Regional Hellenistic witnesses are qualified associations, not a claim that every Greek-speaking territory shared one currency.
P.Eleph.1 values a dowry at 1,000 drachmas and specifies an additional1,000 Alexander silver drachmas as a penalty. Berlin dates the contract310 BCE; association with the retained Attic profile is regional.
Antiochus II’s land sale requires thirty silver talents in instalments, entered in royal records. This254/253 BCE witness is associated with the wider Attic tradition, without creating a dynasty-only currency.
Royal Correspondence 18 / OGIS225: Antiochus II land sale 254/253 BCE; thirty talents, instalments and royal records; pp.197–198, Greece and accounting paragraphs; Attic system adopted by Alexander — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
Denominational systems, in Peter Thonemann, The Hellenistic World (2016) 254/253 BCE; thirty talents, instalments and royal records; pp.197–198, Greece and accounting paragraphs; Attic system adopted by Alexander — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
C2021 · qualified
P.Dura15 records a 120-silver-drachma property price and matching penalty. Its editorial195 BCE date and association with the wider Attic profile remain qualified.
Sale of Property at Dura-Europos Contract, consideration and penalty; editorial dating195 BCE, Seleucid years117/123 — Translated contract and editorial references inspected; precise internal Seleucid dating remains qualified.
C2022 · qualified
Extend the Egyptian silver account through Ptolemaic and Roman traditions. Regional monetary separation and account witnesses support this scope; a new ruler or lighter coin alone does not create a currency.
Tax Receipts, Taxpayers, and Taxes in Early Ptolemaic Thebes (OIP126,2005) pp.11–12 and 23–24: closed regional system, silver and copper accounts; pp.3–4: Roman continuation of Ptolemaic monetary system; pp. 208–212, especially nn. 10, 15, 29–33; BGU XIV 2376; O.Mich. IV 1114 — Official PDF pp.11–12 and 23–24 inspected, including account table; approximate reform chronology remains qualified.
Coinage and the Roman Economy in the Antonine Period: the view from Egypt (2010) pp.11–12 and 23–24: closed regional system, silver and copper accounts; pp.3–4: Roman continuation of Ptolemaic monetary system; pp. 208–212, especially nn. 10, 15, 29–33; BGU XIV 2376; O.Mich. IV 1114 — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
The259 BCE Revenue Laws prescribe oil-import duties of 12 drachmas per metretes and prohibited-import penalties of 100. This is account evidence; its association with the retained Egyptian continuity is qualified.
The Ancient Egyptian Economy (2016), chapter7 p.227, Papyrus Revenue Laws column52,259 BCE oil duties and penalties — Publisher chapter p.227 inspected; Revenue Laws translation cross-checked by research reviewer, not original papyrus.
C2024 · qualified
BGU XIV2376 records a 3,080-silver-drachma debt in 35 BCE separately from bronze-talent damages. The parallel accounts are retained as distinct units.
Broaden the Qom profile to Sasanian and early Islamic eastern drahm–dirham reckoning. Retain local Qom documents and qualify earlier regional associations; neither uniform empire-wide values nor identical tax institutions are asserted.
Iraq After the Muslim Conquest (Princeton,1984) p.39 Attic/Alexander/Seleucid/Parthian derivation; pp.99–107 fiscal assessments; Umar’s diwan, Sasanian unit adoption,698–99 reorganization and regional accounts; BSOAS87, pp.395–420 (volume dated 2024; online11Feb2025); Introduction and section Berk.154: evidence for persistence of Khusrō I’s misāḥa system? — Relevant scholarly book passages inspected in OCR mirror; ancient literary authorities not independently collated.
ECONOMY v. From the Arab Conquest to the End of the Il-Khanids, part1 (1997) p.39 Attic/Alexander/Seleucid/Parthian derivation; pp.99–107 fiscal assessments; Umar’s diwan, Sasanian unit adoption,698–99 reorganization and regional accounts; BSOAS87, pp.395–420 (volume dated 2024; online11Feb2025); Introduction and section Berk.154: evidence for persistence of Khusrō I’s misāḥa system? — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
Middle Persian documents and the making of the Islamic fiscal system: problems and prospects p.39 Attic/Alexander/Seleucid/Parthian derivation; pp.99–107 fiscal assessments; Umar’s diwan, Sasanian unit adoption,698–99 reorganization and regional accounts; BSOAS87, pp.395–420 (volume dated 2024; online11Feb2025); Introduction and section Berk.154: evidence for persistence of Khusrō I’s misāḥa system? — Full relevant original research and four document discussions inspected. The author cautions against projecting later Islamic institutions backward and against presuming that linguistic continuity proves institutional continuity. His proposed link to Khusrō I’s assessment system is not treated as a demonstrated currency succession.
C2026 · qualified
Under Khusro I, annual poll assessments were graded at 4,6,8 or12 dirhams. The531–579 reign bounds a retrospectively reported fiscal witness, not a currency foundation or contemporary dated document.
Iraq After the Muslim Conquest (Princeton,1984) p.39 Attic/Alexander/Seleucid/Parthian derivation; pp.99–107 fiscal assessments; Final substantive paragraphs: dirham assessment versus payment in produce/labor; source limits — Relevant scholarly book passages inspected in OCR mirror; ancient literary authorities not independently collated.
FISCAL SYSTEM ii. SASANIAN (1999) p.39 Attic/Alexander/Seleucid/Parthian derivation; pp.99–107 fiscal assessments; Final substantive paragraphs: dirham assessment versus payment in produce/labor; source limits — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
C2027 · qualified
Umar’s diwan selected the Sasanian silver unit, called dirham, for cash stipends. The634–644 reign bounds the reported practice; later mint reforms remain profile history, not dynasty-only currencies.
Dirham is also an account unit without a corresponding current coin. Reported Isfahan bread prices in 1052 use dirham adl despite the supposed silver-minting gap. This is frontier evidence, not a proven extension of one uniform eastern currency.
DIRHAM ii. In the Islamic Period (1995) Opening monetary-unit definition; medieval cessation and resumption of minting; Naser-e Khosrow in Isfahan1052; bread prices in dirham adl — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
ECONOMY v. From the Arab Conquest to the End of the Il-Khanids, part2 (1997) Opening monetary-unit definition; medieval cessation and resumption of minting; Naser-e Khosrow in Isfahan1052; bread prices in dirham adl — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
C2029 · supported
Siyadoni deeds specify investments, rent and recurring payments in named dramma forms. Admit a scoped Pratihara/Siyadoni account profile; preserve the adivaraha and vigrahapala distinctions without assuming every regional dramma identical.
Siyadoni Inscription, Epigraphia Indica I (1892) pp.167–169: deeds11,21 and final rent; Vikrama969,1005,1025; pp.1–2, Indo-Sasanian currency zones; epigraphic vigrahapala and adivaraha forms; DOI10.1002/9781119399919.eahaa00595 — Edition abstract/translation and chronology pp.167–169 inspected in OCR; copied older deed dates distinguished from inscription production.
A deed dated Vikrama 969 records1,850 Adivaraha drammas invested with liquor distillers. The912–913 CE range dates the recorded transaction, not the later inscription’s production or currency origin.
Siyadoni Inscription, Epigraphia Indica I (1892) pp.167–169: deeds11,21 and final rent; Vikrama969,1005,1025 — Edition abstract/translation and chronology pp.167–169 inspected in OCR; copied older deed dates distinguished from inscription production.
C2031 · supported
A Vikrama 1005 deed assigns a monthly one-third-dramma payment. The948–949 CE range preserves the calendrical conversion uncertainty.
Siyadoni Inscription, Epigraphia Indica I (1892) pp.167–169: deeds11,21 and final rent; Vikrama969,1005,1025 — Edition abstract/translation and chronology pp.167–169 inspected in OCR; copied older deed dates distinguished from inscription production.
C2032 · supported
A Vikrama 1025 deed assigns a quarter Adivaraha dramma from rent, witnessing the account in 968–969 CE.
Siyadoni Inscription, Epigraphia Indica I (1892) pp.167–169: deeds11,21 and final rent; Vikrama969,1005,1025 — Edition abstract/translation and chronology pp.167–169 inspected in OCR; copied older deed dates distinguished from inscription production.
C2033 · qualified
Ghazan’s1296 system defined the dinar as an account multiple of six silver dirhams. Bates follows its subsequent changes through the toman to the 1931 rial subdivision; association with the retained Persian profile remains qualified.
DINAR, Encyclopaedia Iranica (1995) Final two paragraphs of Islamic section:1296 six-dirham account, toman and 1931 rial subdivision — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
C2034 · qualified
The checked sources do not yet establish the intervening account inheritance from the early eastern dirham to Ilkhanid reckoning. Neither the shared word nor a gap in minting settles that relationship.
DIRHAM ii. In the Islamic Period (1995) Opening monetary-unit definition; medieval cessation and resumption of minting; Final two paragraphs of Islamic section:1296 six-dirham account, toman and 1931 rial subdivision; Naser-e Khosrow in Isfahan1052; bread prices in dirham adl — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
DINAR, Encyclopaedia Iranica (1995) Opening monetary-unit definition; medieval cessation and resumption of minting; Final two paragraphs of Islamic section:1296 six-dirham account, toman and 1931 rial subdivision; Naser-e Khosrow in Isfahan1052; bread prices in dirham adl — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
ECONOMY v. From the Arab Conquest to the End of the Il-Khanids, part2 (1997) Opening monetary-unit definition; medieval cessation and resumption of minting; Final two paragraphs of Islamic section:1296 six-dirham account, toman and 1931 rial subdivision; Naser-e Khosrow in Isfahan1052; bread prices in dirham adl — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
C2035 · qualified
Indo-Greek denominations spread into India, but De Romanis shows that drachm coins could circulate while accounts remained in karsapana. Neither that coin sequence nor a repeated dramma name establishes the missing medieval-to-Mughal account links.
Greekness after the end of the Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms, in Rachel Mairs, ed. (2020) pp.666–669, Staters and drachmas; distinguish Indo-Greek and later Sasanian routes; pp.135–137, especially136 notes75–79; DOI10.17885/heiup.1582.c22725 — Relevant chapter pp.666–669 inspected in OCR mirror; coin denomination continuity is not automatically account continuity.
Notes on Barygaza’s Trade: Commodities and Coins at an Asian Crossroads (2025) pp.666–669, Staters and drachmas; distinguish Indo-Greek and later Sasanian routes; pp.135–137, especially136 notes75–79; DOI10.17885/heiup.1582.c22725 — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
C2036 · qualified
The1833 Greek drachma replaced the phoenix and revived an ancient name. This is not an ancient-drachma-to-euro inheritance link.
Silver drachma of King Otto 1833 decree, phoenix replacement and ancient-name revival — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
C2037 · qualified
Egyptian silver accounting inherited the Attic drachma structure and developed a separate regional system with distinct internal and external valuations. Admit qualified ancestry, not a branch created solely by Ptolemaic rulers or reduced coin weights.
Denominational systems, in Peter Thonemann, The Hellenistic World (2016) pp.197–198, Greece and accounting paragraphs; Attic system adopted by Alexander; pp.11–12 and 23–24: closed regional system, silver and copper accounts — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
Tax Receipts, Taxpayers, and Taxes in Early Ptolemaic Thebes (OIP126,2005) pp.197–198, Greece and accounting paragraphs; Attic system adopted by Alexander; pp.11–12 and 23–24: closed regional system, silver and copper accounts — Official PDF pp.11–12 and 23–24 inspected, including account table; approximate reform chronology remains qualified.
C2038 · qualified
The Egyptian copper-drachma account developed from silver reckoning, initially at a reported1:60 relation, while the silver account persisted. Its independent valuation supports a parallel child account. Late-third/early-second-century chronology is a research envelope.
Morony explicitly derives the Sasanian fiscal drahm from the Attic drachma spread east by Alexander and transmitted through Seleucids and Parthians. Admit compressed, qualified ancestry; intermediate identity boundaries and dates remain unresolved.
Iraq After the Muslim Conquest (Princeton,1984) p.39 Attic/Alexander/Seleucid/Parthian derivation; pp.99–107 fiscal assessments; Umar’s diwan, Sasanian unit adoption,698–99 reorganization and regional accounts — Relevant scholarly book passages inspected in OCR mirror; ancient literary authorities not independently collated.
ECONOMY v. From the Arab Conquest to the End of the Il-Khanids, part1 (1997) p.39 Attic/Alexander/Seleucid/Parthian derivation; pp.99–107 fiscal assessments; Umar’s diwan, Sasanian unit adoption,698–99 reorganization and regional accounts — Relevant substantive passages inspected in revision36; claim locators bound the review, not an exhaustive work-wide audit.
C2040 · qualified
Cribb traces medieval Indian dramma denominations through Sasanian imports; Deyell connects that branch to named Pratihara epigraphic forms. Combined with Siyadoni obligations, this supports qualified compressed ancestry through Hunnic and regional stages, not a direct Qom-to-India transfer.
Greekness after the end of the Bactrian and Indo-Greek kingdoms, in Rachel Mairs, ed. (2020) pp.666–669, Staters and drachmas; distinguish Indo-Greek and later Sasanian routes; pp.1–2, Indo-Sasanian currency zones; epigraphic vigrahapala and adivaraha forms; DOI10.1002/9781119399919.eahaa00595; pp.167–169: deeds11,21 and final rent; Vikrama969,1005,1025 — Relevant chapter pp.666–669 inspected in OCR mirror; coin denomination continuity is not automatically account continuity.
Early Medieval Currency Pattern (North India), Encyclopedia of Ancient History: Asia and Africa (2021) pp.666–669, Staters and drachmas; distinguish Indo-Greek and later Sasanian routes; pp.1–2, Indo-Sasanian currency zones; epigraphic vigrahapala and adivaraha forms; DOI10.1002/9781119399919.eahaa00595; pp.167–169: deeds11,21 and final rent; Vikrama969,1005,1025 — Author-uploaded full text pp.1–2 inspected; epigraphic denominations linked to the Indo-Sasanian branch.
Siyadoni Inscription, Epigraphia Indica I (1892) pp.666–669, Staters and drachmas; distinguish Indo-Greek and later Sasanian routes; pp.1–2, Indo-Sasanian currency zones; epigraphic vigrahapala and adivaraha forms; DOI10.1002/9781119399919.eahaa00595; pp.167–169: deeds11,21 and final rent; Vikrama969,1005,1025 — Edition abstract/translation and chronology pp.167–169 inspected in OCR; copied older deed dates distinguished from inscription production.
All older claims, observations, aliases and release downloads remain intact. Data integrity, graph reach, kinship and static layout are checked; DOM-stub tests and SVG inspection are not browser QA.